Methods and apparatus for associating media devices with a demographic composition of a geographic area

ABSTRACT

Example methods and apparatus for associating media devices with a demographic composition of a geographic area are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving a plurality of Internet Protocol addresses assigned to a media device associated with a panel member, determining a most used Internet Protocol address from the plurality of Internet Protocol addresses, accessing geographic information and determining a geographic location corresponding to the most used Internet Protocol address, accessing demographic information and determining a demographic profile associated with the geographic location, and associating at least one of the geographic location or the demographic profile with the media device.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/462,190, filed on Aug. 18, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/336,338, filed on Dec. 16, 2008, whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/336,338 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/462,190 is claimed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to data collection on media devicesand, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for associating mediadevices with the demographic composition of a geographic area.

BACKGROUND

The increasing number of media devices including cellular phones,laptops, personal digital assistants, text message machines, wirelessgaming machines, music players, etc. has increased the need to measuretheir use for various purposes. For example, measuring a user'sinteraction with a media device provides visibility of the types ofservices and applications that may interest a user. Similarly, measuringthe performance and usage of a media device enables manufacturers,wireless service providers, content providers, marketers, etc. toimprove and market future products and services.

In addition to media device usage information, marketers and devicemanufacturers are interested in the demographic information and thegeographic information associated with purchased media devices.Marketers may use the information to analyze different demographiccomponents to predict demand for future products and services. Forexample, a company that manufactures and sells a cellular phone may sellapplications for that cellular phone on the company website. By knowingthe locations where the cellular phones are typically used and thetypical demographics of users of the cell phones, the company candirectly target potential customers who are more likely to purchase cellphone applications from the company. Targeted marketing may includedirect mailings, text messages to likely customers, and/or mediaadvertisements in concentrated locations of potential customers.

Currently, marketers and device manufactures use labor intensive methodsto determine demographic information and geographic informationassociated with media devices. These methods may include questioningfocus groups, tracking individual customers, and/or random sampling andquestioning of people. Alternatively, many products include registrationcards with links to the manufacturer's website for customers to registertheir recently purchased product, their geographic information, andtheir demographic information. However, the labor intensive methods andproduct registration methods tend to yield marginal results because avery small percentage of customers may actually register their products,and/or random sampling may include hidden biases. As the competitionbetween media device manufactures increases, the difference between asuccessful product and a marginally successful product may be determinedby the accuracy of marketing data and the ability of a manufacturer todesign a media device more aligned to what the target market desires.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example network systemincluding an example collection system.

FIG. 2 shows an example implementation of the example collection systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A shows an example communication system during a first time periodwith media devices in different geographic regions.

FIG. 3B shows the example communication system of FIG. 3A during asecond time period with some of the media devices moving to differentgeographical regions.

FIG. 4 shows a table of example IP address records from two mediadevices.

FIG. 5 shows a table of the most used IP addresses from the table inFIG. 4 associated with example geographic location data.

FIG. 6 shows a table of the zip codes associated with the most used IPaddresses from the table of FIG. 5 associated with example demographicprofile data.

FIG. 7 shows a report of example demographic profiles for threedifferent types of media devices in two geographic zip codes.

FIG. 8 shows another report of example average demographic profiles foreach of the three different types of media devices in two geographicregions.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts representative of example methods that maybe performed by, for example, a processor to implement any portion orall of the example collection system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of an example method that may beperformed by, for example, a processor to implement any portion or allof the example collection system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of an example method that may beperformed by, for example, a processor to implement any portion or allof the example address resolver of FIG. 2.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example processor system that may beused to execute the example methods and apparatus described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The example methods and apparatus described herein are used forassociating media devices with the demographic composition of ageographic area. An example method includes receiving a plurality ofInternet Protocol (IP) addresses assigned to a media device associatedwith a panel member. Then, determining a most used IP address from theplurality of IP addresses. Next, accessing geographic information anddetermining a geographic location corresponding to the most used IPaddress. The example further includes accessing demographic informationand determining a demographic profile associated with the geographiclocation corresponding to the most used IP address. Then, associating atleast one of the geographic location or the demographic profile with themedia device.

An example apparatus includes a receiver to receive a plurality of IPaddresses assigned to a media device associated with a panel member. Theexample apparatus further includes an address resolver to determine amost used IP address from the plurality of IP addresses, accessgeographic information, access demographic information, determine ageographic location corresponding to the most used IP address, determinea demographic profile associated with the geographic information, andassociate at least one of the geographic location or the demographicprofile with the media device. Additionally, the example apparatusincludes a demographic database to store demographic profiles bygeographic location and a geographic database to store geographiclocations by IP addresses.

Currently, media device marketers and device manufactures use laborintensive methods to determine demographic information and geographicinformation associated with media devices. These methods may includequestioning focus groups, tracking individual customers, and/or randomsampling and questioning of individuals. However, these labor intensivemethods tend to yield marginal results because the random sampling ortracking may include biases. For example, individuals with highlyunfavorable experiences with a certain media device are more likely torespond to a survey than those having favorable experiences. In anotherexample, a random sampling of individuals in a particular street cornerin the middle of a financial district may be biased towards individualswith financial backgrounds and would not represent the city and/or theregion.

Alternatively, many products include registration cards with links to amanufacturer's website for customers to register their recentlypurchased product with their geographic information and theirdemographic information. However, the product registration methods tendto yield marginal results because a very small percentage of customersmay actually register their products. Furthermore, those customers thatregister their products may be biased towards those with internet accessor customers patient enough to read and fill out a registration form.

The example methods described herein associate demographic informationwith media devices by identifying electronic addresses of media devices,associating the electronic addresses with geographic locations, andassociating demographic profiles with each of the geographic locations.The example methods then associate the demographic profiles to the mediadevices through the electronic addresses. These methods may compiledemographic information per media device type, demographic informationper media device usage, and/or demographic information by applicationson the media device. The compiled demographic information may be used togenerate market summary reports. These reports may be used by mediadevice marketers and/or media device manufacturers to obtain mediadevice demographic information.

The example methods described herein may compile data representative ofmedia devices used in all regions of the world by different demographiccompositions because most of these media devices are configured toenable connectivity to the Internet. This enables the indiscriminateunbiased collection of data from random samples for any geographiclocation with minimal labor. The example methods further include methodsfor processing the collected data and compiling the collected data intouseful statistics and usage information for device manufacturers,marketing entities, application developers, and/or any other third partywho may be interested in the demographics associated with media devices.

In an example implementation, a collection system receives a pluralityof IP addresses from one or more media devices over a period of time.The period of time may include a week, a month, a few months, and/or ayear. The received IP addresses are linked by the collection system toidentifiers of the media devices to which each of the IP addresses isassigned. The device identifier may include a device type, a mediaaccess control (MAC) address of each media device, applications withineach media device, and/or any other type of media device identifyinginformation. The collection system then determines which IP address wasused the most for a time period for each media device. The determiningof the most used IP address may include the IP address used for thelongest period of time, the IP address associated with the mostbandwidth usage, or the IP address used by the media device to accessthe Internet for the longest period of time during the time period.

The most used IP address corresponds to the most likely home geographiclocation of a user of a media device. The most used IP addresscorresponds to the home location of the media device. For example, thehome location may correspond to the location where the user of the mediadevice lives. A user may travel with a media device and, as a result,when the media device accesses the Internet from a different location, anew IP address is assigned corresponding to the new location. Thus, bydetermining the most used IP address, the example methods describedherein ensure the media device is associated with its home location.

Upon determining the most used IP address, the collection systemassesses a geographic database that includes a list of IP addressprefixes and their corresponding geographic locations. The list may beas precise as determining an IP address to the nearest city block or toa geographic region (e.g., Westmoreland County, Pa.). The collectionsystem includes an address resolver to match the IP address to ageographic location. In some example implementations, the most used IPaddress may correspond to the owner of an IP address e.g., a serviceprovider). In these cases, the owner is typically in the same generalgeographic location as the user of the media device. For example, theowner of an IP address may be in one zip code within a city and themedia device user is located in an adjacent zip code in the same city.In this case, the most used IP address is associated with the generalarea covering the owner and the user of the IP address.

Upon associating the most used IP address with a geographic location,the collection system associates demographic information with the mediadevice. The collection system includes a demographic data base withdemographic profiles for each of the geographic locations. Thedemographic information may include race, ethnicity, education level,adjusted gross income per household, number of members per household,gender, population, and/or any other demographic compositioninformation. The address resolver accesses the demographic database anddetermines the demographics associated with the geographic location forthe most used IP address. The address resolver then associates thedemographic information with the media device of the most used IPaddress. Associating may include linking the demographic information toan electronic record including the media device. Additionally,associating may include linking a reference code corresponding to atypical demographic profile to an identifier of the media device. Theprofile may include a complete demographic composition for a geographiclocation and/or a most likely demographic for the geographic location.For example, the demographic profile for a location may include the topthree demographics by percentage in the location and demographicdistributions such as education level and income.

The collection system then combines the demographic information for aplurality of media devices and compiles statistics from the information.The statistics may correlate media device type and the top threecorresponding demographic compositions, typical demographic profiles permedia device per geographic location, and/or media device usage perdemographic composition per geographic location. The compiledinformation is then used to generate reports for marketing entities,device manufacturers, application developers and/or any other interestedthird party. These entities may use the information for targetedmarketing, product improvements, and/or planning future products.

Although the following discloses example apparatus including, amongother components, software executed on hardware, it should be noted thatsuch systems are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thedisclosed hardware and software components could be embodied exclusivelyin dedicated hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmwareor in some combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software.

An example network system 100 is shown in FIG. 1. The example networksystem 100 includes a collection system 102, a service provider 104, atransmission medium 150, and a media device 110. For brevity, only onemedia device 110 and one service provider 104 are shown. However, theexample network 100 may include a plurality of media devices 110connected through the transmission medium 150 (e.g., the Internet) toone or more service providers 104. The transmission medium 150 providesa framework for the media device 110 to access servers, the serviceproviders 104, and the other media devices connected to the Internet.Additionally, the example network system 100 enables the collectionsystem 102 to receive IP addresses and corresponding information fromthe media device 110 and/or from other media devices connected to thetransmission medium 150.

The media device 110 of FIG. 1 includes a metering component 114 and anetwork access device 112. Additionally, the media device 110 includesany number of integrated circuits, microcontrollers, processors,wireless chips, power supplies, signal processing circuits, noisefiltering circuits, video drivers, sound cards, displays, antennas,input/output ports, and/or any other hardware component for displayingand playing media. For brevity, these hardware components are not shownin the media device 110. Furthermore, the media device 110 may includeexecutable software, cable, instructions, etc. stored on a computerreadable medium for processing and displaying media received from mediasources. The media device 110 may be any type of media device includinga cellular phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an audioplayer, a portable video player, a gaming machine, a personal computer,a cable receiver, a satellite receiver, and/or any other media devicethat can connect to the Internet.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the media device 110 may be in thepossession of and/or belong to a panel member. Additionally, the mediadevices 110 may be shared between a plurality of panel members.Furthermore, the one panel member may use a plurality of media devicesincluding the media device 110. The media device 110 uses the meteringcomponent 114 for logging IP address information (e.g., IP addresses andcorresponding information) and device usage information. In otherexample implementations, the media device 110 may store and transmit IPaddress information to the collection system 102 without a meteringcomponent 114. In yet other example implementations, the media device110 may transmit IP address information to the collection system 102upon receiving an IP address.

The media device 110 includes a hardware identification number a deviceidentifier 126). This number may include a MAC address that is assignedto the media device 110 during its manufacture. The MAC address and/orhardware identification number is a unique number that includesinformation identifying the make and model of the media device 110. Thisidentification number or device identifier 126 may be transmitted to thecollection system 102 upon request and may be included in IP addressinformation sent to the collection system 102. The device identifier 126enables the collection system 102 to organize IP address information bymedia device. Additionally, the device identifier 126 enables thecollection system 102 to determine the make and model of the mediadevice 110.

The metering component 114 within the media device 110 may be activatedby a panel member subscribing to and/or registering with a meteringservice such as, for example, Nielsen Mobile. The collection system 102may send the metering component 114 to the subscribing panel member toinstall and/or attach to the media device 110. The metering component114 may be sent as software over one of the transmission medium 150and/or sent within a memory device via the mail. Additionally oralternatively, the metering component 114 may be installed within ahardware component such as, for example, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), and/or installed or embedded within anoperating system and/or read only memory (ROM) during manufacture of themedia device 110. In this example, the panel member may register withthe metering service to activate the metering component 114.

In the example system 100, the metering component 114 monitors the mediadevice 110 for IP address changes. The IP address changes includereceiving an IP address from the service provider 104 and/or receivingan IP address from a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server.The service provider 104 and/or the DHCP server may assign the mediadevice a dynamic IP address or a static IP address. The dynamic IPaddress may be replaced by another dynamic IP address weekly, biweekly,monthly, and/or every few months depending on IP configurations withinthe service provider 104 and/or the DHCP server. The static IP addressmay be assigned to the media device 110 for a long time period includinga few months to a few years. In other example implementations, themetering component 114 may monitor for other network addresses assignedto the media device 110. Other network addresses may include telephonenumbers, private IP address, subnet addresses, etc.

The metering component 114 may also meter the time and/or date (e.g.,time-based information 124) an IP address is assigned to the mediadevice 110. Additionally, the metering component 114 stores a copy IPaddress 120 of an assigned IP address. For example, if the media device110 receives a replacement IP address to replace a first IP address, themetering component 114 meters and stores the copy of the replacement IPaddress and/or the date and time the replacement IP address was receivedby the media device 110. A copy of the IP address 120 may be forwardedby a network access device 112 to the metering component 114.Alternatively, the network access device 112 may forward a copy of thereplacement IP address to the collection system 102.

The metering component 114 may operate in the background of an operatingsystem, applications, and/or hardware of the media device 110. Datagathered by the metering component 114 is sent or communicated to aprocessor and/or an event log within the memory of the media device 110.In another example implementation, the metering component 114 sends orcommunicates the metered data to a personal computer having a processorand memory that processes and stores the data. The personal computer maythen transmit the data to the collection system 102 via the transmissionmedium 150.

The data includes usage information 122 and IP address information(e.g., IP addresses 120) for a plurality of time periods. The usageinformation 122 may include a log of applications and/or hardwarefunctions accessed by a panel member, media device parametricinformation, and/or network parametric (e.g., quality) information. Thedata for a time period may be saved to the memory of the media devices110 as part of an event log cache. The event log cache accumulatesmetered media device IP information and usage information 122 for aplurality of time periods. The metering component 114 within the mediadevices 110 transmits event logs including IP information from the mediadevice 110 memory to the collection system 102. The media devices 110may send the event logs and/or IP address information when the event logcache is full, when the collection system 102 sends a request or queryto the media device 110, during predetermined times of a day or week,and/or when the media device 110 is in an idle state.

The usage information 122 collected by the metering component 114includes any data relating to activity on the media device 110 initiatedby a panel member. For example, the usage information 122 includes datafrom data applications, device applications, metadata, and eventstatistics. Data applications include, for example, Internet browsing,live media applications, mobile commerce transactions, mobileadvertising activity, e-mail activity, etc. Device applications include,for example, games, address books, personal information managementsoftware, document processing programs, and media players used forstreaming audio and video. Metadata includes attributes of deviceapplications, for example, content title, author, date of publication,source and/or publisher information, copyright information, digitalrights management information, etc. Event statistics includes, forexample, voice and data call activity, text-messaging, instantmessaging, etc.

The usage information 122 and received IP addresses 120 may be coupledto the time-based information 124 by the metering component 114. Thetime-based information 124 includes, for example, the duration ofapplication usage, and calendar data (e.g., month, week, day, hour,minute, second). The time-based information 124 may enable the meteringcomponent 114 to follow a schedule of the time periods the meteringcomponent 114 is configured to monitor events on the media device 110.

Additionally, the metering component 114 collects any of the deviceidentifiers 126 within the media device 110. The device identifiers 126may include a brand, a model type, a hardware address, and/or a MACaddress of the media device 110. Furthermore, the device identifiers 126may include an alpha-numeric code provided to the panel member whentheir media device 110 is registered to a metering service. Thecollection system 102 may combine the device identifiers 126, thetime-based information 124, and/or the IP addresses 120 together as IPaddress information that is used to associate demographic compositionsto media devices.

The network access device 112 connects the media device 110 to theservice provider 104 and/or the collection system 102 via thetransmission medium 150. The media device 110 transmits IP addressinformation e.g., IP addresses and corresponding information) to thecollection system 102 via a collected data bus 106. The network accessdevice 112 converts the IP address information into a transportableformat for transmission across the transmission medium 150. Theconversion may include compressing the IP information and/or opening atransmission path via the transmission medium 150 to the collectionsystem 102. The network access device 112 may operate on any type ofwired and/or wireless network. A wired network may include an Ethernetconnection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxialcable, a cellular telephone system, etc. The wireless network mayinclude a circuit switched network, a paging network, and/orpacket-based data networks including, but not limited to, AMPS, CDMA,TDMA, GSM, iDEN, GPRS, 3×RTT, 3GSM, LTE, EDGE, WiMax, etc.

The network access device 112 may incorporate and adhere to wirelessprotocols and standards for data communication services through thetransmission medium 150. These standards include TIA/EIA95-B (MobileBase Station Compatibility for Wideband Spread Spectrum CellularSystems), ANSI J-STD-008 (Personal Station-Base Station CompatibilityRequirements for 1.8 to 2.0 GHz Code Division Multiple Access PersonalCommunication Systems), ANSI J-STD 018 (Minimum Performance Requirementsfor 1.8 to 2.0 GHz Code Division Multiple Access Personal Stations),TIN/HA/IS-99 (Data Services Option Standard for Wideband Spread SpectrumDigital Cellular Systems), TIA/EIA-637-A (Short Message Service forSpread Spectrum Systems), TIA/EIA-683-A (Over-the-Air Provisioning ofMobile Stations in Spread. Spectrum Systems), and various WAP documents(Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Specification, WirelessApplication Environmental Specification, Wireless Telephony ApplicationSpecification, Wireless Transaction Protocol Specification, WirelessDatagram Protocol Specification, etc.).

The example network system 100 includes the transmission medium 150 fortransporting IP address information from media devices 110, proxyservers 152, and/or service providers 104. The transmission medium 150includes any hardware, software, computer readable medium, and/orphysical connections between any media device capable of connecting tothe transmission medium 150. For example, the transmission medium 150may include a transport layer, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) layer,and an application layer. Within the transport layer, the transmissionmedium 150 may include digital subscriber line access multiplexers(DSLAMs), wireless local area network (WLAN) gateways, and/or generalpacket radio service (GPRS) support nodes for connecting a plurality ofmedia devices. Additionally, the transport layer may include gatewayGPRS support nodes (GSGNs), media resource function (MRF) servers,broadband access servers (BASs), switches, and/or routers for routingdata between the media devices 110 and service providers 104 and/or thecollection system 102. The transport layer within the transmissionmedium 150 may support Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), InternetProtocol version 6 (IPv6) and/or any other IP routing standard.

The IMS layer may include call session control function (CSCF) servers,communicatively coupled to home subscriber servers (HSSs) and/orapplication servers (ASs) in the application layer. Furthermore, thetransmission medium 150 may be integrated with one or more serviceproviders 104 and may route network traffic through any one of sessionborder controllers, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers,routers, and/or any other border elements included within the serviceproviders 104. The data communicated via the transmission medium 150 maybe formatted for any transmission protocol including, but not limited tosession initiation protocol (SIP) and/or open service access (OSA).Furthermore, the transmission medium 150 may conform to any routingstandards and/or specifications including third generation partnershipproject (3GPP) specifications and/or Internet engineering task force(IETF) specifications.

The transmission medium 150 includes the proxy server 152 for storing IIaddress information. The proxy server 152 collects IP addressinformation for a plurality of media devices 110 in cases where somemedia devices 110 do not include a metering component 114 and/or wherethe media devices 110 are not capable of sending IP address informationto the collection system 102. For example, when an IP address isassigned to the media device 110 by a DHCP server within the serviceprovider 104, the IP address is sent to the media device 110 via a dataconnection 108. The proxy server 152 detects the IP address assignmentand stores a copy of the IP address and the date and/or time the IPaddress was assigned to the media device 110. Additionally, the proxyserver 152 may request the device identifier 126 from the media device110 to associate the device identifier 126 with the stored IP addressinformation. The proxy server 152 may detect IP address changes for aplurality of media devices 110 and store the IP address information foreach media device.

Additionally, the proxy server 152 may detect Internet usage by theplurality of media devices and store the Internet usage information foreach media device. The proxy server 152 may then send to the collectionsystem 102 the stored. IP address information and/or usage informationfor processing. The proxy server may send IP address informationperiodically to the collection system 102 or alternatively, upon requestof the collection system 102.

The example proxy server 152 of FIG. 1 may be located in proximity to asession border controller and/or public DHCP servers within thetransmission medium 150. In other example implementations, the proxyserver 152 may be included within the service provider 104. Furthermore,the example proxy server 152 is shown in series with the data connection108. Alternatively, the example proxy server 152 may monitor and/orprobe the data connection 108 for Internet usage information.

The example service provider 104 includes any entity that enables one ormore media devices to access the Internet, applications, servers, and/orservices. The service provider 104 may include some or all of thehardware included within the transmission medium 150 for routing anddirecting Internet traffic. Additionally, the service provider 104 mayinclude functionality to implement media gateways, signaling gatewaysand/or gateway controllers. The media gateways, signaling gatewaysand/or gateway controllers provide connectivity and interworking betweenVoIP and other circuit switch-based telephony networks (e.g., such asPSTN and/or pre-3G wireless networks). The service provider 104 may alsoinclude media servers to provide ring tones, announcements and/or mediamixing for multi-way calling and/or other calling features. Furthermore,the service provider 104 may include DHCP servers for assigning themedia device 110 a dynamic or a static IP address.

For media devices 110 that receive service from the service provider104, the service provider 104 may collect and store IP addressinformation and Internet usage information in the same manner as theproxy server 152 and/or the metering component 114. The service provider104 may send the collection system 102 the IP address information and/orusage information for a plurality of media devices via connection 154.The service provider 104 may send the IP address information to thecollection system 102 at time periods agreed upon by the two entities(i.e., the collection system 102 and the service provider 104) atperiodic time periods, and/or upon request by the collection system 102.

The example collection system 102 receives and processes IP addressinformation to associate media devices with geographic locations and/ordemographic compositions. The collection system 102 may be operated by ametering entity that generates reports associating types of mediadevices with demographic profiles. The collection system receives the IPaddress information and/or media device usage information from one ormore media devices 110, the proxy server 152, and/or one or more serviceproviders 104. The collection system 102 receives the IP addressinformation via the connection 154 and the collected data bus 106. Thetransmitted IP address information may be encrypted to secure theidentity and personal information of users of the media devices 110.

The collection system 102 may include a group of servers in a centrallocation for processing the IP address information or, alternatively,separate servers in different geographic locations. Servers in differentgeographic locations may collect IP address information for differentregions and then forward the collected information to a central serverfor data processing and generating reports. Furthermore, the collectionsystem 102 may include a computer, a server, a measurement entity, aprocessor, etc. Additionally, the collection system 102 may include amemory to store the IP address information, a processor to organize andfilter the IP address information and an address resolver to associatedemographic compositions with media devices. The collection system 102includes databases for associating IP addresses with geographiclocations and databases for associating demographic profiles withgeographic locations. These databases enable the collection system 102to associate a demographic profile (e.g., composition) with a mediadevice.

While an example manner of implementing the network system 100 isdepicted in FIG. 1, one or more of the interfaces, data structures,elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 1 may becombined, divided, rearranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented inany other way. For example, the example collection system 102, theexample media device 110, the example metering component 114, theexample network access device 112, and/or the example transmissionmedium 150 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be implemented separately and/or inany combination using, for example, machine accessible or readableinstructions executed by one or more computing devices and/or computingplatforms (e.g., the example processing platform 1300 of FIG. 13).Further, the example collection system 102, the example media device110, the example metering component 114, the example network accessdevice 112, the example transmission medium 150, and/or more generally,the network system 100 may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Thus, for example, any of the example collection system 102, the examplemedia device 110, the example metering component 114, the examplenetwork access device 112, the example transmission medium 150, and/ormore generally, the network system 100 can be implemented by one or morecircuit(s), programmable processor(s), application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. When any of the appendedclaims are read to cover a purely software or firmware implementation,at least one of the example collection system 102, the example mediadevice 110, the example metering component 114, the example networkaccess device 112, and/or the example transmission medium 150 are herebyexpressly defined to include a tangible medium such as a memory, DVD,CD, etc. storing such software or firmware. Further still, the examplenetwork system 100 may include additional devices, servers, systems,networks, gateways, portals, and/or processors in addition to, orinstead of, those illustrated in FIG. 1 and/or may include more than oneof any or all of the illustrated devices, servers, networks, systems,gateways, portals, and/or processors.

FIG. 2 shows the example collection system 102 of FIG. 1 in greaterdetail. The collection system 102 includes a receiver 202, an addressmemory 220, a processor 204, an address resolver 206, a data transmitter208, a report generator 210, a geographic database 222, a demographicdatabase 224, and a media device demographic database 226. The examplecollection system 102 receives and processes IP address information toassociate media devices with geographic locations and/or demographiccompositions. The collection system 102 may be operated by a meteringentity that generates reports summarizing types of media deviceassociated with demographic profiles.

The example receiver 202 receives IP address information from mediadevices 110, the proxy server 152 and/or the service provider 104 ofFIG. 1. The IP address information is received via the collected databus 106. The receiver 202 may receive IP address information and/ormedia device usage information from the media devices 110, the proxyserver 152, and/or the service provider 104 at predetermined timeperiods. Alternatively, the receiver 202 may request the IP addressinformation from the media devices 110, the proxy server 152, and/or theservice provider 104. Furthermore, the receiver 202 may filter andformat the IP address information for processing in the collectionsystem 102.

The example receiver 202 of FIG. 2 may request hardware identificationinformation (e.g., MAC addresses) from the media devices 110. Uponreceiving hardware identification, the receiver 202 associates thehardware identification with IP address information from thecorresponding media device. Then, after receiving the IP addressinformation, the receiver 202 sends the IP address information to theaddress memory 220. For example, the receiver 202 may receive IP addressinformation including IP addresses and the dates and/or times the IPaddresses were assigned to the media device 110. Additionally, the IPaddress information includes the currently assigned IP address of themedia device 110 used in the transmission of the IP address information.The receiver 202 uses the currently assigned IP address to send arequest message back to the media device 110. Upon receiving the requestmessage, the media device responds by sending its hardwareidentification (e.g., the device identifier 126) to the receiver 202.The receiver 202 receives the hardware identification, associates thehardware identification with the IP address information, and sends theinformation to the address memory 220.

The example address memory 220 stores IP address information and thecorresponding media device identification information. Additionally, theaddress memory 220 may store the media device usage information 122. Theaddress memory 220 may organize the IP address information by mediadevice identification, by the chronological time at which the IP addressinformation was received by the receiver 202, by IP address member,and/or any other method specified by an operator of the collectionsystem 102.

The address memory 220 may be implemented by a read-only memory (ROM)and/or a random access memory (RAM). Additionally, the media devicedemographic database 226, geographic database 222, and/or thedemographic database 224 may be implemented by ROM and/or RAM. The RAMmay be implemented by, for example, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM),synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM), and/or any other typeof RAM device(s). The ROM may be implemented by, for example, flashmemory(-ies) and/or any other desired type of memory device(s). Accessto the address memory 220, the media device demographic database 226,the geographic database 222, and/or the demographic database 224 may becontrolled by a memory controller (not shown).

The example address memory 220 stores IP address information until theIP address information is requested by the processor 204. In otherexample implementations, the address memory 220 may send the processor204 IP address information at predetermined time periods specified by anoperator of the collection system 102 and/or when the amount of IPaddress information reaches a predetermined threshold. For example, theaddress memory 220 may send the processor 204 IP address informationafter storing IP address information for 1000 media devices.

The example processor 204 filters and/or configures the W addressinformation for the address resolver 206. The filtering by the processor204 enables the collection system 102 to process IP address informationfor specific criteria. This enables the creation of reports based on thespecific criteria. The criteria for filtering IP address information mayinclude filtering by IP address number, type of media device, timeperiod, media device identification, and/or by any other criteriaspecified by an operator of the collection system 102. The IP addressinformation filtered out by the processor 204 may be returned to theaddress memory 220 and/or discarded. For example, the processor 204 maybe configured to filter and retrieve all IP address informationcorresponding to Aug. 1, 2008 through Aug. 30, 2008. The IP addressinformation during this time period is forwarded to the address resolver206 while IP address information corresponding to times/dates beforeAugust may be discarded and IP address information corresponding toafter August is returned to the address memory 220. This filtered IPaddress information enables the collection system 102 to generate mediadevice demographic composition reports based on the data collectedcorresponding to the month of August.

The filtering criteria used by the processor 204 may change periodicallyand/or in response to instruction from an operator of the collectionsystem 102. Additionally, the processor 204 may filter and/or configurethe IP address information itself. For example, the processor 204 maycombine IP address information for a common media device, may calculatea total time from a start time and a stop time, may calculate totalbandwidth usage for a time period, may filter media device usageinformation, etc. An example table showing filtered IP addressinformation is described in conjunction with FIG. 4.

The processor 204 may retrieve IP address information from the addressmemory 220 at predetermined time periods and/or upon request from anoperator of the collection system 102. Alternatively, the address memory220 may send the processor 204 the IP address information. Uponfiltering and processing the IP address information, the processor 204sends the processed IP address information to the address resolver 206.

In addition to any number and/or type(s) of specialized hardware,firmware and/or logic to perform processing functions, the exampleprocessor 204 of FIG. 2 includes any number and/or type(s) ofspecialized and/or general purpose controller(s) and/or processingunit(s) capable of executing coded instructions. For example, thecontroller and/or processing unit may perform any number and/or type(s)of processing functions by carrying out and/or executing codedinstructions present in a memory communicatively coupled and/or withinthe processor 204 (e.g., within a random-access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM) and/or on-board memory of the processor 204).

The example address resolver 206 determines a most used IP address fromthe IP address information for each media device. Then, the addressresolver 206 uses the most used IP address for each media device toassociate a geographic location and/or demographic composition with eachmedia device. The address resolver 206 receives filtered and/orprocessed IP address information from the processor 204. The IP addressinformation for a single media device includes the media deviceidentification, IP addresses assigned to the media device, the timeperiods the IP addresses were assigned, bandwidth utilized by the mediadevice, and/or any media device usage information. In other exampleimplementations, the address resolver 206 may include individualfunctional blocks for determining a most used IP address, forassociating a geographic location with an IP address, and/or forassociating a demographic profile with an IP address.

Upon receiving the IP address information, the address resolver 206 mayprocess the IP address information in parallel for all the media deviceslisted in the IP address information or, alternatively, may process theIP address information serially for each media device. The addressresolver 206 selects IP address information for a single media deviceand determines the most used IP address for the media device for thetime period of the IP address information. For example, when providedwith IP address information for the month of August, the addressresolver 206 selects all IP address information with media deviceidentification of MAC01 to determine the most used IP address for theMAC01 media device during the month of August.

The most used IP address may be determined by calculating which of theplurality of IP addresses assigned to the media device utilized the mostbandwidth, by which of the plurality of IP addresses assigned to themedia device were used to access the Internet for the longest timeperiod, and/or by which of the plurality of IP addresses were assignedto the media device for the longest time period. Additionally, thedetermination method of the most used IP address may be specified by anoperator of the collection system 102.

Determining the most used IP address provides a confidence level thatthe data generated in the marketing reports reflects the home locationof the media device user. For example, a traveling salesperson may workor use a media device from a home location three days a week and travelto out-of-town client sites four days a week. Assuming a new IP addressis assigned to the media device at each client site, the most used IPaddress corresponds to the salesperson's home location. Thus,demographic information associated with the media device is correctlyapplied based on the demographics of the home location and not thedemographics associated with the client sites.

Upon determining the most used IP address for the media device, theaddress resolver 206 associates the most used IP address with ageographic location. The address resolver 206 determines the geographiclocation by accessing the geographic database 222 and matching the mostused IP address to a geographic location. The geographic database 222includes lists of IP addresses and/or IP address prefixescross-referenced to geographic locations. The lists of IP addresses andgeographic locations (e.g., Geo-IP information) is supplied to thegeographic database 222 via communication link 232, whichcommunicatively couples the geographic database 222 to any one of apropriety, commercial, and/or public Geo-IP address database. Commercialdatabases may include Maxmind®, HostIP, Geobytes, etc. The geographicdatabase 222 may update the Geo-IP information at predetermined timeperiods and/or upon request from an operator of the collection system102.

The address resolver 206 matches the most used IP address to ageographic location by either finding the exact IP address in thegeographic database 222 or, alternatively, by matching a prefix of themost used IP address to a prefix and/or an IP address range within thegeographic database 222. For example, if the most used IP address is216.146.64.2, the address resolver 206 may match the 216 prefix to a 216prefix and/or to a range of IP address prefixes that includes 216 in thegeographic database 222. Additionally, the address resolver 206 may thenmatch the 146 prefix of the most used IP address to the correspondingsecond prefix in the 206 IP address and/or range of IP addresses in thegeographic database 222.

When the address resolver 206 determines the most used IP address ismatched to an IP address prefix and/or IP address in the geographicdatabase 222, the address resolver 206 associates the correspondinggeographic location to the most used IP address and/or the media device110. The associated geographic location may include a county, a state, aregion, a city, a town, a zip code, a block, a latitude, and/or alongitude. The resolution of geographic location may depend on thespecificity of geographic location information in the geographicdatabase 222. For example, the address resolver 206 may only resolve anIP address to a city, while in another example the address resolver 206may resolve an IP address to a block within a city. An example tablewith media devices associated with geographic locations is shown in FIG.5.

In cases when a most used IP address is owned by the service provider104 and shows an address of the service provider 104, the addressresolver 206 may only resolve a geographic location to the general areaof the location of the service provider 104. For example, a media deviceuser located in a zip code of 60074 subscribes to the service provider104 located in zip code 60010. Because the IP address is owed by theservice provider 104, the data in the geographic database 222 providedby Geo-IP commercial databases show the IP address having a location atthe 60010 zip code. As a result, the address resolver 206 associates the60010 zip code to the media device user living in the 60074 zip code.The two zip codes may correspond to different demographic compositions,thus skewing the usage results to the locations of the service providers104.

To alleviate incorrect address resolution, the address resolver 206 maydetermine if the most used IP address corresponds to a service provider104 and, if so, increase the size of the geographic location to includethe media device user. The size increase of the geographic location maycome from data from service providers 104 specifying the averagedistance between media device users and the service provider 104location. Alternatively, the location of the media device user can beinferred by determining the locations of the routers, switches, and/orborder controllers used in routing the IP address information from themedia device of the user through the transmission medium 150 to thecollection system 102. Furthermore, the address resolver 206 maydetermine that an IP address corresponds to the location of the serviceprovider 104 by checking the number of IP addresses that may correspondto the same address. For example, if the address resolver 206 determines650 out of 1000 IP addresses are associated with the same streetaddress, the address resolver 206 may associate the IP address to a moregeneral geographic location covering likely geographic locations ofmedia devices users.

By determining the geographic location of a most used IP address of amedia device, the address resolver 206 then associates a demographicprofile(e.g., composition) with the media device. The demographicprofile for a media device is determined by accessing the demographicdatabase 224 and matching the geographic location associated with themost used IP address to a geographic location in the demographicdatabase 224. The demographic database 224 includes lists of geographiclocations cross-referenced with demographic profiles for each of thelisted geographic locations. The demographic profiles may includeinformation relating to race, ethnicity, education level, adjusted grossincome per household, number of members per household, gender,population, etc. Additionally, the demographic profile may include arepresentation of average demographics and/or a listing of demographicinformation for the corresponding geographic location.

The lists within the demographic database 224 are updated viacommunication link 234, which communicatively couples the demographicdatabase 224 to any one of a propriety, commercial, and/or publicgeographic-demographic database. Commercial databases may includeNielsen Claritas, PRIZM, GeoLytics, DemographicsNow, etc. Thedemographic database 224 may update the geographic-demographicinformation at predetermined time periods and/or upon request from anoperator of the collection system 102.

The address resolver 206 matches the media device 110 to a demographicprofile by matching geographic locations. For example, in a case where amost used IP address is associated with a zip code 60607, the addressresolver 206 accesses the demographic database 224 and searches for ageographic location corresponding to 60607. This may include an exactzip code match in the demographic database 224 or, alternatively, amatch to a range of zip codes and/or a more general geographic area(e.g., West Loop of Chicago). The resolution of demographic profile to ageographic area may depend on the specificity of geographic-demographiclocation information in the geographic database 222. For example, theaddress resolver 206 may only resolve demographic profiles to a city,while in another example, the address resolver 206 may resolve ademographic profile to a block within a city.

Upon matching the geographic location associated with the media device110 to a geographic location within the demographic database 224, theaddress resolver 206 associates the demographic informationcorresponding to the matched geographic location with the media device110. Associating may include linking the demographic information to arecord that includes the media device 110 and its most used IP address.Alternatively, the address resolver 206 may link a code corresponding tothe demographic profile to a record including the media device 110. Anexample table having media devices associated with geographic locationsand demographic profiles is shown in FIG. 6.

The address resolver 206 transmits the IP address information includingthe media device identification, the most used IP address, theassociated demographic profile, the associated geographic location,and/or media device usage information to the media device demographicdatabase 226. The address resolver 206 may transmit the IP addressinformation upon associating a demographic profile with a media deviceor, alternatively, upon associating a group of media devices todemographic profiles. An operator of the collection system 102 mayspecify when the address resolver 206 transmits IP address informationand associated demographic profiles to the media device demographicdatabase 226.

The media device demographic database 226 stores information associatingmedia devices to demographic information for generating summary reports.The information may be in record form with a line for each media deviceincluding its most used IP address, an associated geographic location,and/or an associated demographic profile. The media device demographicdatabase 226 may organize and/or compile the information by media deviceidentification, by type of media device, by geographic location, bydemographic information, and/or by time periods. Additionally, anoperator of the collection system 102 may specify the organization ofthe media device demographic database 226.

The example report generator 210 generates reports from the compiled andorganized information in the media device demographic database 226. Thecriteria for each report may be determined by an operator of thecollection system 102 or, alternatively, the report generator 210 maygenerate reports for predefined media device types, geographiclocations, and/or demographic profiles. Additionally, reports may begenerated associating media device usage information for types of mediadevices with geographic locations and/or demographic profiles.

Additionally, the report generator 210 may calculate market statisticsfrom the sample IP address information. For example, the total marketusage of media devices for a geographic region can be calculated bycompiling the sample IP address information associated with thegeographic region and counting the number of media devices for eachmodel. Then, the number of media devices per model is compared to thetotal population of the entire region and the total number of peopleusing each type of media device is estimated. Market usage values can becalculated by device type, by application type, and/or by demographicprofile for each type of media device for specific geographic areas.

The report generator 210 may also combine data for smaller geographiclocations (e.g., zip codes) into larger geographic regions (e.g., acity). The combining of geographic locations may be useful for reportscovering general geographic areas. The IP address information with theassociated demographic profiles ensures that if geographic regions arecombined, the demographic profiles resulting from the combination areaveraged by media device usage. Alternatively, the report generator 210may access the demographic database 224 and associate the largergeographic region to a demographic profile corresponding to a similargeographic location in the demographic database 224.

Furthermore, the report generator 210 may correlate demographic datafrom areas of high media device usage to areas where the media deviceusage may not be accurately captured by the demographic data. Forexample, in zip code 60074, a minority of sampled individuals may usemedia device A and have a demographic profile of XYZ. However, themajority of sampled individuals in the 60074 zip code may have ademographic profile of MNO. These NINO users may use media device Bpredominantly. The report generator 210 can compare the usage of themedia device A to geographic locations with similar XYZ demographicprofiles and determine if the media device usage is proportional. Ifthere is a correlation, the report generator 210 may associate the mediadevice A with the XYZ demographic profile.

The reports generated in the report generator 210 may be used by mediadevice manufacturers, marketing entities, application developers, mediadevice service providers, third party statistical agencies, and/or anyother interested party. Each report may be tailored to the partyreceiving the report. For example, a report for media devicemanufacturers may include total sampled numbers of types of mediadevices for a geographic location, market estimates of the total numbersof each type of media device in the geographic location, and/or thedemographic profile for each type of media device in the geographiclocation. The media device manufacturers may use this information forplanning distribution channels, adding design improvements for differenttypes of users, etc. Examples of reports are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The example data transmitter 208 of FIG. 2 transmits the generatedreports via communication link 236 to media device manufacturers,marketing entities, application developers, media device serviceproviders, third party statistical agencies, and/or any other interestedparty. The data transmitter 208 may send reports compiled in the reportgenerator 210 in response to a request from an operator of thecollection system 102, at predefined time periods, and/or upongeneration of the reports.

While an example manner of implementing the collection system 102 isdepicted in FIG. 2, one or more of the interfaces, data structures,elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may becombined, divided, rearranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented inany other way. For example, the example receiver 202, the exampleprocessor 204, the example address resolver 206, the example mediadevice demographic database 226, the example geographic database 222,the example demographic database 224, the example report generator 210and/or the example data transmitter 208 illustrated in FIG. 2 may beimplemented separately and/or in any combination using, for example,machine accessible instructions executed by one or more computingdevices and/or computing platforms (e.g., the example processingplatform 1300 of FIG. 13). Further, the example receiver 202, theexample processor 204, the example address resolver 206, the examplemedia device demographic database 226, the example geographic database222, the example demographic database 224, the example report generator210, the example data transmitter 208, and/or more generally, thecollection system 102 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmwareand/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, forexample, any of the example receiver 202, the example processor 204, theexample address resolver 206, the example media device demographicdatabase 226, the example geographic database 222, the exampledemographic database 224, the example report generator 210, the exampledata transmitter 208, and/or more generally, the collection system canbe implemented by one or more circuit(s), programmable processor(s),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)),etc. When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareor firmware implementation, at least one of the example receiver 202,the example processor 204, the example address resolver 206, the examplemedia device demographic database 226, the example geographic database222, the example demographic database 224, the example report generator210 and/or the example data transmitter 208 are hereby expressly definedto include a tangible medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, etc. storingsuch software or firmware. Further still, the example collection system102 may include additional devices, servers, systems, networks,gateways, portals, and/or processors in addition to, or instead of,those illustrated in FIG. 2 and/or may include more than one of any orall of the illustrated devices, servers, networks, systems, gateways,portals, and/or processors.

FIG. 3A shows an example network system 300 during a first time periodwith media devices 350-358 in different geographic regions 302-306. Theexample network system 300 includes the transmission medium 150, thecollected data bus 106, and the collection system 102 of FIG. 1. In theexample network system 300 of FIG. 3A the service provider 104 and thedata connection 108 are included within the transmission medium 150 andthe geographic regions 302-306. The geographic regions 302-306 may eachcorrespond to respective zip codes, cities, towns, regions, states, etc.The example network system 300 shows only a small sample of mediadevices 350-358 that may be included within each of the respectivegeographic regions 302-306. The example media devices 350-358 are withintheir home locations.

Each geographic region 302-306 includes a network node 310 forcommunicatively coupling each media device 350-358 to the transmissionmedium 150. In some example implementations, the network nodes 310 maybe included within the transmission medium 150 and/or may be associatedwith the service provider 104. The network nodes 310 include wiredconnections and/or wireless connections to the respective media devices350-358. The network nodes 310 may be implemented to modulate andtransmit reference, data, control signals, and/or symbols in accordancewith one or more past, present and/or future wired and/or wirelesscommunication standards and/or specifications, such as the EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) specification currently beingdefined by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical StudyGroup (TSP) Radio Access Networks (RAN) Working Group 1 (WG1).

A wired network may include an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriberline (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephonesystem, etc. The wireless network may include a circuit switchednetwork, a paging network, and/or packet data networks including, butnot limited to, AMPS, CDMA, TDMA, GSM, iDEN, GPRS, 3×RTT, 3GSM, LTE,EDGE, WiMax, etc.

The collection system 102 receives copies of IP addresses assigned toeach of the media devices 350-358. Additionally, the collection system102 receives the dates and times the IP addresses were assigned to therespective media devices 350-358, hardware identification e.g., a MACaddress) of the media devices 350-358, and/or media device usageinformation. In the example network system 300, the media devices 350and 352 send the collection system 102 IP addresses corresponding to thegeographic region 302, media device 354 sends the collection system 102IP addresses corresponding to the geographic region 304, and the mediadevices 356 and 358 send the collection system 102 IP addressescorresponding to the geographic region 306.

FIG. 3B shows the same media devices 350-358 in the same network system300 as FIG. 3A during a second time period. Additionally, thetransmission medium 150, the collection system 102, the network nodes310 and the collected data bus 106 are the same as in FIG. 3A. Thelength of time in the second time period is less than the length of timeof the first time period. From the first time period to the second timeperiod media device 350 moved to the geographic region 306 and the mediadevice 354 moved to the geographic region 302.

Upon moving to the geographic region 306, the media device 350 isassigned an IP address corresponding to the geographic region 306 andupon moving to the geographic region 302 the media device 354 isassigned an IP address corresponding to the geographic region 302. Thus,the media device 350 sends the collection system 102 a copy of the IPaddress corresponding to the geographic region 306 and the media device354 sends the collection system 102 a copy of its newly assigned IPaddress corresponding to the geographic region 302.

The collection system 102 processes the IP address information from themedia devices 350-358. Despite the media devices 350 and 354 changinggeographic regions, the collection system 102 associated the mediadevices 350 and 354 with their respective home locations because thefirst time period is longer than the second time period. Thus, the mostused IP address of the media device 350 and 354 corresponds to the IPaddress assigned to the media devices 350 and 354 during the first timeperiod in FIG. 3A. This enables the collection system 102 to associatethe demographic profile corresponding with the home geographic region ofthe media devices 350 and 354.

FIG. 4 shows a table 400 of example IP address information from twomedia devices, MAC01 and MAC02. The media devices are similar and/oridentical to the media device 110 described in conjunction with FIG. 1.The table 400 is representative of IP address information that may bestored in the address memory 220 of the collection system 102. The IPaddress information may have been sent from the respective mediadevices, from the proxy server 152, and/or from respective serviceproviders 104 of the media devices.

The example table 400 includes fields for a media device identification(DEVICE ID), an IP address (IP ADDRESS), a start time for the respectiveIP address (START TIME), a stop time for the respective IP address (STOPTIME), and bandwidth (BANDWIDTH) utilization during the time between theSTART TIME and the STOP TIME. The table 400 may include additionalfields for media device usage information, panel member identification,media device identification, and/or any other information specified byan operator of the collection system 102. The DEVICE ID field includes aMAC address, a hardware identifier, and/or any other deviceidentification value. In the example implementation, each media deviceincludes a unique identifier such that no two media devices have thesame identification. The IP ADDRESS field includes the IP addressassigned to the media device in the DEVICE ID field, the time the IPaddress was received by the media device in the START TIME field, andthe time the IP address was replaced by a replacement IP address in theSTOP TIME field. Additionally, the bandwidth utilized by the mediadevice for the time period is shown in the BANDWIDTH field. For example,the MAC01 media device was assigned three IP addresses (i.e., IP ADDR02, IP ADDR 23, IP ADDR 16) from the time period Aug. 1, 2008-Aug. 31,2008. The IP address IP ADDR 02 was assigned to the MAC 01 media devicefrom 7:30 AM on Aug. 1, 2008 through 9:15 AM on Aug. 15, 2008. Duringthis time period, the media device utilized 135 MB of bandwidth.

The IP address information in the example table 400 is processed by thecollection system 102. The collection system 102 may process all IPaddress information corresponding to one or more media devices. Forexample, the collection system 102 may process all IP addressinformation corresponding to the media device MAC01 before processingthe IP address information corresponding to MAC02. Additionally, thecollection system 102 may organize the IP address information in theexample table 400 by media device identification, media device type,time period, and/or any other criteria specified by an operator of thecollection system 102.

Each row in the example table 400 may have been a separate transmissionof IP address information or, alternatively, the data may have beenreceived by the collection system 102 at one time. While only two mediadevices are shown in table 400, the table 400 may include additionalmedia devices. Furthermore, the example table 400 may include additionaltime periods and the corresponding bandwidth usage.

FIG. 5 shows a table 500 of the most used IP addresses from the twomedia devices, MAC01 and MAC02 from FIG. 4 linked to example geographiclocations. The table 500 is representative of IP address informationprocessed by the address resolver 206 of FIG. 2. The example table 500shows the most used IP address for each media device as calculated fromthe IP address information in the example table 400 of FIG. 4.Additionally, the example table 500 includes fields for geographiclocation information such as, for example, REGION. CITY, ZIP CODE,BLOCK, LATITUDE, and LONGITUDE.

In this example, the most used IP address was determined by calculatingwhich IP address was assigned to the media device for the longest periodof time. For the media device MAC01, the most used IP address was IPADDR 02 and for the media device MAC02, the most used IP address was IPADDR 67. In other example implementations, the most used IP address maybe calculated by determining which of the plurality of IP addresses eachmedia device used to access the Internet for the longest period of timeand/or which of the IP addresses each media device utilized the mostbandwidth.

Upon determining the most used IP address, the address resolver 206associates a geographic location with the most used IP address for eachmedia device. The address resolver 206 may access a geographic database222 that includes Geo-IP address lookup information from any propriety,commercial, and/or public Geo-IP address database. Upon accessing thegeographic database 222, the address resolver 206 matches the most usedIP address for each device to a geographic location. The example table500 shows the two media devices with their respective most used IPaddresses, IP address information, and associated geographic locations.For example, the media device MAC01 is associated with a region ofSouthern California, a city of Los Angeles, a zip code of 90015, a blockof 1111 S. Figueroa St., a latitude of 34.042579, and a longitude of−118.267565. Likewise, media device MAC02 is associated with a region ofNorthern Illinois, a city of Chicago, a zip code of 60606, a block of100 S. Wacker Dr., a latitude of 41.879598, and a longitude of−87.637677. In other example implementations, such as when an IP addressis owned by a service provider 104, the associated geographic locationmay only resolve to a region, a city, and/or a zip code.

While only two media devices are shown in table 500, the table 500 mayinclude additional media devices. Furthermore, the example table 500 mayinclude more fields for geographic location information oralternatively, fewer fields for geographic information.

FIG. 6 shows an example table 600 with the most used IP addresses fromthe table 500 in FIG. 5 associated with example demographic profiledata. The table 600 is compiled from the address resolver 206 accessingthe demographic database 224 of FIG. 2. The demographic database 224includes a listing of geographic locations and demographic profilesassociated with each geographic location. The geographic locations inthe demographic database 224 may be listed by zip codes, city, region,etc. In the example of FIG. 6, the demographic profiles are associatedwith zip codes. The demographic database 224 may includegeographic-demographic lookup information from any public, commercial,and/or propriety database such as, for example, Nielsen Claritas.

The example table 600 includes fields for demographic profiles such as,for example, POPULATION, GENDER MEDIAN AGE, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, AGI(Adjusted Gross Income), TOP 3 RACES, and COLLEGE DEGREE. Additionally,the table 600 may include fields for other types of demographicinformation. The POPULATION field shows the population of a geographiclocation. The GENDER field shows a percentage of males living in ageographic location. The MEDIAN AGE field shows a media age of apopulation and a household size shows an average number of people perresidence in a geographic location. The AGE field shows an averageadjusted gross income for a population in a geographic location. The TOP3 RACES field shows top 3 races or ethnicities for a geographiclocation. The COLLEGE DEGREE field shows what percentage of a populationof a geographic location has obtained a college degree. In otherexamples, the information within each of the demographic fields mayinclude a distribution of demographic data, an average profile oratypical member, or a listing of the top 3-5 demographic compositionsfor a geographic location.

To create the data association shown in table 600, the address resolver206 matches a geographic location of a most used IP address to a zipcode and/or a range of zip codes in the demographic database 224. Forexample, the MAC01 media device with the most used IP address of IP ADDR02 is associated with the geographic location 90015 shown in FIG. 5. Theaddress resolver 206 matches the 90015 zip code to the 90015 zip codelisted in the demographic database. Upon matching the zip codes, theaddress resolver 206 associates the demographic profile corresponding tothe 90015 zip code with the MAC01 media device shown in table 600 ofFIG. 6.

In other example implementations, the address resolver 206 may matchgeographic regions, cities, and/or a latitude and a longitude to asimilar specified location in the demographic database. While only twomedia devices are shown in table 600, the table 600 may includeadditional media devices. Additionally, the table 600 may be organizedby geographic locations, by media device types, and/or any otherorganization specified by an operator of the collection system 102.Furthermore, the example table 600 may include a field for a demographicprofile code that corresponds to a demographic profile in thedemographic database 224.

FIG. 7 shows an example report 700 of example demographic profiles forthree different types of media devices in two geographic zip codes. Thereport 700 may be generated by the collection system 102 uponassociating demographic profiles with media devices. The report 700includes fields for the media device type (i.e., DEVICE TYPE),geographic location (i.e., ZIP CODE), number of sampled media devicesper device type and location (i.e., NUMBERED OF SAMPLED DEVICES) anddemographic information (e.g., POPULATION—COLLEGE DEGREE). The report700 is generated by compiling media devices of the same type for ageographic location. Because the geographic location is constant, thedemographic profile for the geographic location is the same.

The example report 700 may provide media device manufacturers, marketingentities, and/or any other interested party a typical demographiccomposition for different models of media devices for a geographiclocation. Additionally, the number of sampled devices may provide anestimate of the market penetration of each media device type. Forexample, the report 700 shows that DEVICE TYPE 1 is used by more peoplein the 90015 zip code than DEVICE TYPE 2 or DEVICE TYPE 3. In otherexample implementations, the report 700 may include additionaldemographic profile fields, fewer demographic profile fields, additionaldevice usage information, and/or additional geographic information. Forexample, a device usage field may include the most used applications onper media device type. Furthermore, the example report 700 may include afield for estimated total number of media devices used in a geographiclocation. While the example report 700 shows three device types for twogeographic areas, other reports may include more device types andadditional geographic locations.

FIG. 8 shows an example report 800 of example demographic profiles forthree different types of media devices in two geographic regions. Thereport 800 may be generated by the collection system 102 of FIG. 2 uponassociating demographic profiles with media devices. The report 800includes fields for the media device type (i.e., DEVICE TYPE),geographic location (i.e., REGION), number of estimated media devicesper device type and location (i.e., ESTIMATED NUMBER OF USERS), anddemographic information (e.g., GENDER—COLLEGE DEGREE).

The example report 800 is generated by compiling media devices of thesame type for a geographic location. Because the geographic location isa region, the demographic profiles associated with the zip codes areaveraged together for the region. For example, the Northern IL regionmay include demographic profiles for zip codes including 60606, 60607,60654, 60010, 60074, 60047, etc. By averaging the demographic profilesfor each zip code, sampling weights may be included in the averagingcalculation such that the most likely demographic profile of a user ismore likely to be calculated than an average of demographic profilesacross a region. For example, if a media device is heavily used in a zipcode with a first demographic profile, but lightly used in a zip codewith a larger population with a second demographic profile, acalculation with weighted usage would average to a demographic profilesimilar to the first demographic profile. Alternatively, the demographicprofile for each region may be loaded from the demographic database 224.

The example report 800 may provide media device manufacturers, marketingentities, and/or any other interested party with typical demographicdata for each device type in a geographic location. Additionally, theexample report 800 provides an estimate of the total number of users ineach geographic location who may own a media device. The estimate isbased on processed sample data collected by the collection system 102.For example, in NORTHERN IL, DEVICE TYPE 1 may be used by 1274individuals, where the average user in NORTHERN IL of the DEVICE TYPE 1is 29.4 years old with an AGI of 75,290. A marketing entity may use thisinformation for targeted marketing for this demographic profile in thisgeographic location. In some cases a minority in a geographic region maynot be accurately represented by a typical demographic profile for thegeographic location. In these cases, the collection system 102 maycorrelate demographic profiles in geographic locations where usage of amedia device model is higher to geographic areas where the same mediadevice is lower.

In other example implementations, the report 800 may include additionaldemographic profile fields, fewer demographic profile fields, additionaldevice usage information, and/or additional geographic information. Forexample, a device usage field may include the most used applications onthe media devices. While the example report 800 shows three device typesfor two geographic regions, other reports may include more device typesand additional geographic locations.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12 are flowcharts representative of example methodsthat may be executed for associating media devices with a demographiccomposition of a geographic area. The example methods may be executedusing, for example, a processor system such as the system 1300 of FIG.13. However, one or more of the blocks depicted in the flowcharts may beimplemented in any other manner, including by dedicated purposecircuitry, manual operations, etc. Additionally, although the examplemethods are described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9, 10,11, and 12, other methods for associating media devices with ademographic composition of a geographic area may additionally oralternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksdepicted in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12 may be changed,and/or some of the blocks described may be rearranged, eliminated, orcombined.

The example method 900 represented by FIG. 9 may be performed toimplement the example metering component 114 and/or the examplecollection system 102 of FIG. 1. The example method 900 may be executedat predetermined intervals, based on an occurrence of a predeterminedevent, in response to a user request, etc., or on any combinationthereof. For example, the method 900 may be executed at predeterminedintervals, such as hourly, daily, etc. Additionally or alternatively,the example method 900 may be executed upon the occurrence of a triggergenerated remotely such as, for example, a panel member activatingand/or registering a newly purchased media device.

The example method 900 of FIG. 9 begins when a panel member registersand/or agrees to participate in the metering of a media device (block902). The metering includes monitoring and/or storing a plurality of IPaddresses assigned to the media device. The panel member may register byvisiting a metering service website to enter the media deviceidentification, by responding to a solicited and/or unsolicitedcommunication from the metering service asking the panel member toparticipate in the metering survey, and/or by the panel member agreeingto a request from a preinstalled metering component 114 prompting thepanel member to participate in the metering survey. Registering may alsoinclude the panel member indicating the type of their media device sothat the corresponding metering component 114 may be installed. Once thepanel member agrees to have the media device metered, the meteringcomponent 114 is downloaded to and installed on the media device (block904). Alternatively, the metering component 114 may be manually attachedto the media device. Next, the metering component 114 is installed ontothe media device (block 906). This includes the media device running aninstallation program associated with the metering component 114.Additionally or alternatively, this may include installing any hardwarecomponents of the metering component 114 within the media device.

The example method 900 continues when the metering component 114 isconfigured within the media device (block 908). Configuration includessetting up one or more application adapters and/or hardware meters forthe corresponding applications and/or hardware functions within themedia device, creating connections between the application adaptersand/or hardware meters to the network access device 112, allocatingand/or creating space within a memory of the media device, pollingapplications and/or hardware functions for metering capability, etc.Once the metering component 114 had been configured, the meteringcomponent 114 sends media device identification to the collection system102 (block 910). The media device identification may include a modelnumber, serial number, and/or a MAC address. Once the collection system102 has received the media device identification from the meteringcomponent 114, the example method 900 ends.

The example method 1000 represented by FIG. 10 may be performed toimplement the example metering component 114 and/or the examplecollection system 102 of FIG. 1. The example method 1000 may be executedat predetermined intervals, based on an occurrence of a predeterminedevent, in response to a user request, etc., or on any combinationthereof. For example, the method 1000 may be executed at predeterminedintervals, such as hourly, daily, etc. Additionally or alternatively,the example method 1000 may be executed upon the occurrence of a triggergenerated remotely such as, for example, a media device receiving an IPaddress.

The example method 1000 of FIG. 10 begins when a media device receivesand stores a copy of a first IP address (block 1002). The copy of thefirst IP address may be stored in a memory of the media device and/orwithin a memory associated with the metering component 114. The first IPaddress may be stored in the network access device 112 of FIG. 1 toprovide connectivity between the media device and the Internet.Additionally, the date and time the media device received the first IPaddress may be stored in memory with the copy of the first IP address.Next, the metering component 114 monitors the media device for an IPaddress change (block 1004). The IP address change includes the mediadevice receiving a replacement IP address to replace the first IPaddress. The replacement IP address may be assigned and sent to themedia device by a DHCP server and/or by a service provider. The IPaddress change may be in response to an expiration of the first IPaddress, the media device moving to a new geographical locationrequiring a new IP address, and/or a service provider deciding to assignthe media device a new IP address.

If the metering component 114 does not detect an IP address change inthe media device (block 1006), the metering component 114 continues tomonitor the media device for an IP address change (block 1004). If themetering component 114 detects an IP address change (block 1006), a copyof the replacement IP address is stored in the memory of the mediadevice (block 1008). Next, the metering component 114 stores the dateand time the media device changed IP addresses to the replacement IPaddress (block 1010). The date and time information may be stored andassociated with the stored replacement IP address in memory.

The example method 1000 continues when the metering component 114determines if the stored IP address information is to be sent to thecollection system 102. The IP address information may include aplurality of stored IP addresses assigned to the media device and/or theassociated date and time information. If the IP address information isnot to be sent, the metering component 114 continues to monitor themedia device for an IP address change (block 1004).

If the IP address information is to be sent, the metering componentsends the IP address information via the transmission medium 150 to thecollection system 102 (block 1014). The metering component 114 may beprogrammed to send the IP address information to the collection system102 at predetermined times. Alternatively, the collection system 102 mayrequest the IP address information from the metering component 114. Inanother example method 1000, the proxy server 152 (instead of themetering component 114) of FIG. 1 may store IP addresses assigned to themedia device and store the associated date and time information. Theproxy server 152 may then send the collection system 102 the stored IPaddress information at a specified time and/or upon request from thecollection system 102. Upon sending the IP address information (block1014), the example method 1000 ends.

The example method 1100 represented by FIG. 11 may be performed toimplement the example collection system 102 of FIG. 1. The examplemethod 1100 may be executed at predetermined intervals, based on anoccurrence of a predetermined event, in response to a user request,etc., or on any combination thereof. For example, the method 1100 may beexecuted at predetermined intervals, such as hourly, daily, etc.Additionally or alternatively, the example method 1100 may be executedupon the occurrence of a trigger generated remotely such as, forexample, an operator activating the collection system 102.

The example method 1100 of FIG. 11 begins when the collection system 102waits for IP address information from one or more media devices (block1102). The IP address information may include copies of one or more IPaddresses assigned to a media device and/or the date and time the one ormore IP addresses are assigned to the media device. The example method1100 continues when the collection system 102 receives IP addressinformation (block 1104). The collection system 102 may receive IPaddress information from one or more media devices, the proxy server152, and/or one or more service providers 104 of FIG. 1. Next, theexample method 1100 stores the received IP address information in theaddress memory 220 within the collection system 102 (block 1106).

Upon storing the IP address information, the collection system 102determines if the address resolver 206 should process the stored IPaddress information (block 1108). The IP address information may beprocessed at predetermined time intervals such as, daily, weekly,monthly, etc. Alternatively, the IP address information may be processedupon a request by an operator of the collection system 102. If the IPaddress information is not to be processed, the collection system 102waits for additional IP address information (block 1102). However, ifthe IP address information is to be processed, the address resolver 206determines the most used IP address per media device (block 1110). Themost used IP address per each media device is determined by accumulatingthe IP address information for a single media device. Then, the addressresolver 206 determines the most used IP address by predefined criteria.The criteria may include determining which IP address was assigned tothe media device for the longest time period, which IP address utilizedthe most bandwidth, and/or which IP address was used to access theInternet for the longest period of time.

Upon determining the most used IP address for each media device, theaddress resolver 206 associates a geographic location and acorresponding demographic profile with each media device (block 1112).The geographic location may include a region, a zip code, a town, a cityblock, and/or an address. The demographic profile may include race,ethnicity, education level, adjusted gross income per household, numberof members per household, gender, population, etc. Additionally, thedemographic profile may include a representation of average demographicsand/or a listing of demographic information for the correspondinggeographic location. A further description of methods for associatingdemographic information with the most used IP address are describedbelow in conjunction with FIG. 12.

The example method 1100 continues when the collection system 102determines if additional IP address information is to be processed(block 1114). The decision to process additional IP address informationmay come from an operator of the collection system 102. Alternatively,the collection system 102 may include a threshold value to determine ifadditional IP address information is to be processed. The thresholdvalue may correspond to the amount of processed IP address informationthat is sufficient for generating statistical reports associatingdemographics with media device types. The collection system 102 maycontinue processing IP address information until the threshold value isexceeded. If additional IP address information is to be processed, thecollection system 102 waits for additional IP address information fromone or more media devices (block 1102).

If the collection system 102 is finished processing IP addressinformation, the media device demographic database 226 compiles thedemographic profiles and/or the geographic locations for each mediadevice type (block 1116). Alternatively, the media device demographicdatabase 226 may compile demographic profiles and/or the geographiclocations for application types, device usage information, and/orapplication usage information. Next, the report generator 210 generatesreports for the demographic profile for each media device type (1118).The reports may be sent to media device manufacturers, marketingentities, and/or any other interested entity. Alternatively, the reportgenerator 210 may generate reports for the demographic profile perapplication type, device usage information, and/or application usageinformation. Upon generating reports, the example method 1100 ends.

The example method 1112 represented by FIG. 12 may be performed toimplement the example collection system 102 and/or the address resolver206 of FIG. 2. The example method 1112 may be executed at predeterminedintervals, based on an occurrence of a predetermined event, in responseto a user request, etc., or on any combination thereof. For example, themethod 1112 may be executed at predetermined intervals, such as hourly,daily, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the example method 1112 maybe executed upon the occurrence of a trigger generated remotely such as,for example, the address resolver 206 receiving and/or determining amost used IP address.

The example method 1112 of FIG. 12 is a detailed description of block1112 in FIG. 11. Although the example method 1112 is described herein asprocessing IP address information for a single media device, the examplemethod 1112 may concurrently process IP address information for one ormore media devices. Alternatively, the example method 1112 may processIP address information for each media device in series at each step.

The method 1112 begins when the address resolver 206 accesses thegeographic database 222 (block 1202). The geographic database 222 mayinclude cross references between IP address and regions, zip codes,towns, city blocks, street addresses, etc. Using the information in thegeographic database, the address resolver 206 determines a geographiclocation for the most used IP address (block 1204).

The address resolver 206 determines the geographic location by matchingthe most used IP address to an IP address prefix and cross-referencingthe IP address prefix to the geographic location. For example, a mostused IP address of 135.16.152.122 is matched by the address resolver 206to the geographic region of California that includes an IP addressprefix range from 120.0.0.0 to 160.0.0.0. The geographic location isnarrowed by matching the IP address prefix to an IP address range of132.0.0.0 to 136.0.0.0 corresponding to the Los Angeles area. Thegeographic location is further narrowed by matching the most used IPaddress to an IP address prefix of 135.16.0.0 for the zip code 90015. Ifthe information in the geographic database 222 includes block and streetaddress information, the geographic location may be further narrowed.

Upon determining the geographic location corresponding to the most usedIP address, the address resolver 206 associates the geographic locationwith the media device (block 1206). Associating may include linking thegeographic location to an electronic record including the media deviceand/or the most used IP address. Alternatively, associating may includetagging a record including the media device with a reference codecorresponding to the geographic location.

Upon associating the media device with the geographic location, theexample method 1112 continues when the address resolver 206 accesses thedemographic database 224 of FIG. 2 (block 1208). Then, the addressresolver 206 determines a demographic composition and/or profile for themost used IP address (block 1210). The demographic profile is determinedby matching the geographic location associated with the most used IPaddress to a geographic location listed in the demographic database 224.Once there is a match between the geographic locations, the demographicprofile associated with the matched geographic location is associatedwith the most used IP address and the media device (block 1212). Forexample, the address resolver 206 may access the demographic database224 that includes a range of zips codes for a particular demographicprofile. The address resolver 206 determines the zip code range thatmatches 90015 and associates the corresponding demographic profile withthe most used IP address associated with the 90015 geographic location.Then, the address resolver 206 associates the demographic profile withthe media device by storing the demographic information to a recordincluding the media device and/or the geographic location.Alternatively, the demographic profile may be associated with the mediadevice by tagging a reference code corresponding to the demographicprofile to an electronic record including the media device.

The demographic profile for any geographic location may include anaverage demographic profile for a typical individual in a geographiclocation, an average of demographic information for a geographic area, alisting of demographic profiles for a geographic area, and/or adistribution of demographic information for a geographic area. Theinformation included within a demographic profile may include race,ethnicity, education level, adjusted gross income per household, numberof members per household, gender, population, etc. Once the demographicprofile is associated with the media device, the example method 1112ends.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example computer system 1300 capable ofimplementing the systems and methods disclosed herein. The computer 1300can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), an internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, adigital video recorder, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or anyother type of computing device. Any or all of the example collectionsystem 102, the example metering component 114, the example addressresolver 206, and/or the example processor 204 may be implemented by theexample computer 1300.

The system 1300 of the illustrated example includes a processor 1312such as a general purpose programmable processor. The processor 1312includes a local memory 1314, and executes coded instructions 1316present in the local memory 1314 and/or in another memory device. Thecoded instructions 1316 when executed, may perform some or all of themethods represented in FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12. The processor 1312 maybe any type of processing unit, such as one or more microprocessors fromthe Intel® Centrino® family of microprocessors, the Intel® Pentium®family of microprocessors, the Intel® Itanium® family ofmicroprocessors, the Intel® Core® family of microprocessors, and/or theIntel® XScale® family of processors. Of course, other processors fromother families are also appropriate.

The processor 1312 is in communication with a main memory including avolatile memory 1318 and anon-volatile memory 1320 via a bus 1322. Thevolatile memory 1318 may be implemented by Static Random Access Memory(SRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic.Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 1320 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the main memory 1318, 1320 is typicallycontrolled by a memory controller.

The computer 1300 also includes an interface circuit 1324. The interfacecircuit 1324 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, suchas an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a thirdgeneration input/output (3GIO) interface.

One or more input devices 1326 are connected to the interface circuit1324. The input device(s) 1326 permit a user to enter data and commandsinto the processor 1312. The input device(s) can be implemented by, forexample, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball,an isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1328 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1324. The output devices 1328 can be implemented, for example,by display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tubedisplay (CRT)), by a printer and/or by speakers. The interface circuit1324, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card.

The interface circuit 1324 also includes a communication device such asa modem or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal computers via a network (e.g., an Ethernet connection, adigital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, acellular telephone system, etc.

The computer 1300 also includes one or more mass storage devices 1330for storing software and data. Examples of such mass storage devices1330 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drivesand digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. The mass storage devices 1330may implement any or all of the example address memory 220, the examplemedia device demographic database 226, the example geographic database222, and/or the example demographic database 224. Additionally oralternatively, the volatile memory 1318 may implement any or all of theexample address memory 220, the example media device demographicdatabase 226, the example geographic database 222, and/or the exampledemographic database 224.

At least some of the above described example methods and/or system areimplemented by one or more software and/or firmware programs running ona computer processor. However, dedicated hardware implementationsincluding, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits,programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can likewise beconstructed to implement some or all of the example methods and/orapparatus described herein, either in whole or in part. Furthermore,alternative software implementations including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the example methods and/or apparatus describedherein.

It should also be noted that the example software and/or firmwareimplementations described herein are stored on a tangible storagemedium, such as: a magnetic medium (e.g., a magnetic disk or tape); amagneto-optical or optical medium such as an optical disk; or a solidstate medium such as a memory card or other package that houses one ormore read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or otherre-writable (volatile) memories. A digital file attached to e-mail orother information archive or set of archives is considered adistribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium.Accordingly, the example software and/or firmware described herein canbe stored on a tangible storage medium or distribution medium such asthose described above or successor storage media.

To the extent the above specification describes example components andfunctions with reference to particular standards and protocols, it isunderstood that the scope of this patent is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For instance, each of the standards forinternet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g.,Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP), UserDatagram Protocol (UDP)/IP, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), HyperTextTransfer Protocol (HTTP)) represent examples of the current state of theart. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or moreefficient equivalents having the same general functionality.Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the samefunctions are equivalents which are contemplated by this patent and areintended to be included within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Additionally, although this patent discloses example systems includingsoftware or firmware executed on hardware, it should be noted that suchsystems are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thesehardware and software components could be embodied exclusively inhardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware or in somecombination of hardware, firmware and/or software. Accordingly, whilethe above specification described example systems, methods and articlesof manufacture, the examples are not the only way to implement suchsystems, methods and articles of manufacture. Therefore, althoughcertain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have beendescribed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limitedthereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus andarticles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appendedclaims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining a plurality ofInternet Protocol addresses assigned to a media device associated with apanel member; identifying a geographic area corresponding to a homelocation, the home location corresponding to an Internet Protocoladdress of the plurality of Internet Protocol addresses, the geographicarea associated with a demographic profile; and associating thedemographic profile with the media device.